The present invention generally relates to a termination device and a system and a method for termination for an alarm system peripheral device.
In burglar alarm, fire alarm and access control systems and similar alarm systems, a peripheral device is connected to a control panel for monitoring the system. The peripheral device has an End-of-Line (EOL) component known as a termination device, and the termination device is typically a resistor. The termination device varies both in type and in resistance value based on selections of a control panel manufacturer. The main purpose of the termination device is to allow the control panel to differentiate between an open circuit and a short circuit by establishing a known resistance so that changes to the resistance may be detected. More specifically, the resistor determines the intensity of the current flowing in the protection loop to which the peripheral device is attached. A change in the current results in the control panel generating an alarm.
In prior art systems, an electrician or device installer must manually connect the termination device to the circuit either by soldering or by connection to a set of electrical terminals. Connection of the termination device to the circuit requires that each termination device must be individually selected and manually installed at remote locations. As a result, many device installers install the termination device in the control panel which typically defeats the purpose of the termination device. Hand-installed termination devices have a tendency to fail, and faulty termination at the control panel may cause false alarms on the system or render the protection loop ineffective by failing to detect an alarm state that is present.
More specifically, most alarm system faults due to faulty wiring occur in one of two ways. First, a short circuit on the system may result from faulty wiring contacting grounded components to produce a “short circuit fault.” Second, the contact between system components may be broken to produce an “open circuit” fault in the system. Both a short circuit fault and an open circuit fault are problematic; most alarm systems treat “open circuit” faults as false alarms, and “short circuit” faults may cause an actual alarm to go unreported if the terminating device is installed in the wrong position, such as at the control panel.
Pre-installation of termination devices within the peripheral devices is possible, but termination devices vary greatly by the manufacturer. Therefore, termination devices are typically specially ordered which may cause delays and added cost for a project.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus, a system and method for installing termination devices on peripheral devices of alarm systems which reduce the potential for errors and delays in installation.